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Wine has been around for as many years as one can count and it’s that time of year again to raise your glass to International Wine Day. Salute!

Here’s some even better news. There are a number of health benefits to drinking a glass or two of wine. For example, moderate wine drinkers will lower their chance of liver disease, type two diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, and various forms of cancer. A wine or two has also been known to reduce bad cholesterol or LDL and increases good cholesterol known as HDL.

Plus a glass of wine won’t add much to your waist line either with approximately 100 calories only, plus wine is fat and cholesterol free.

So what kind of wine should you choose to drink? Well if you are new to drinking wine, here are some tips to make you look like you know what you are talking about, including what to drink and eat to to increase your overall experience.

Note: There are many varieties of wine to choose from and here are eight of the main varieties.

Riesling

Riesling is a white grape from Germany. Bet you didn’t know that!? Pair a glass of riesling with turkey or hot food and dance the night away.

Pinot Gris

Pinot Gris is also another white wine you will enjoy. It comes from France and has a semi sweet taste which makes it very easy to drink for most people. Enjoy a Pinot Gris with a salad or mild cheese.

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is a very popular variety of white wine. It’s a white wine with a bit of honeydew and melon flavors mixed with a hint of mint, if you want to sound cool of course. Drink a Sauvignon Blanc wine with fish and white meat. For example, a sauvignon blanc goes great with fish and chips!

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a dry white variety as well. The lemon flavor compliments seafood varieties like crab and shrimp and soft cheeses like triple cream brie. And is one of Australia’s most popular wine varieties.

Pinot Noir

Now to the red wines, and let’s start with a little berry picking shall we. Pinot Noir, a light-to-medium red wine, often tastes like cherry and cranberry, but it can have a hint of black raspberry cola depending on the region. Enjoy a glass of Pinot Noir with veal, duck and cheese like gruyere cheese.

Zinfandel

Feeling fruity? Zinfandel is a wine full of exotic fruit flavors. This medium-red wine goes well with chicken, Thai food and cheddar cheese. Try it some day, you wont be disappointed.

Syrah

Syrah tastes of blueberry, plum, tobacco, black pepper and more and has been selected in the Wine Of The Month Club, but don’t let the complexity of the flavour scare you, Syrah is a red wine that plays well with lamb, beef, and white cheddar. A great winter wine or enjoy it any time of the year.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is a full-bodied red wine variety. It tastes of black cherry, baking spices, black currant and cedar. Pair this drink with some smoked meats and aged cheddar to properly enjoy. A great colder weather wine, but you can enjoy it at any time of the year.

Now that you know a few tips on pairing your wines, have a great National Wine Day!

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Looking for a gift?
Give someone a membership to theWine Of The Month Club
where members receive a different bottle of
boutique wine from vineyards around Australia
and the world.

Stout beer is usually related to creamy strong, dark beer. And a lot of times people will think of Guinness when stout becomes the conversation. And whilst many types of stout beer are creamy, dark and strong, a lot of varieties of stout are quite different to one another. For example; did you know Guinness isn’t very high in alcohol content? That’s right, and it’s actually the same as Bud Light beer at 4.20%. Amazing!

The number one thing that makes a stout beer from other stout beers is the roasted flavour that comes from roasted barley traditionally made by highly kilning barley grain that has not been malted.

Let’s take a look at the history of the stout style to better understand and contribute to a stout conversation the next time it comes up.

Stout Beer – A little history

The word “stout” has been around for a long time and was used to refer to strong beers as far back as the late 1600s and early 1700s. And they were stronger varieties of porters which became known as “stout porters.” Porters first got it’s origins in London and became popular amongst you guessed it, porters! And because the flavour was so strong it tended to last longer and didn’t go bad as quickly as other beers. Plus it had a great tasted in warmer weather and was cheaper than other beers, The word “stout” was used to describe strong versions of all different types of beers back in the day and wasn’t actually a beer style of it’s own. For example, some people would refer to a Stout pale ale, but it eventually developed in to it’s own style people are more familiar with today.

When porters made went to Ireland the St. James’s Gate Brewery (Guinness) first started brewing it’s “porter” in the late 1700s. And it was was not at all like the Guiness is know for in regards to being smooth, creamy and thick. Instead, it was a complex, big bodied and really strong beer with an alcohol content level at 7.5%. The brewery decided to use the name “stout porter” as a way to describe their stronger porter which after time became known as stout.

English brewers in the 1700s from the Baltic started brewing a stout called they name the Russian imperial Stout. It became a popular beer and very strong in alcohol content between 8 and 11%. The Russian Imperial Stout was also aged for years and became very popular in the Russian Imperial Court.

Porters were very popular so breweries made them at different strengths which continued to promote the word stout. However there is still some confusion over different stouts and porters and often it simply depends on the beer’s strength.

Below is a list of some common stout styles.

Dry Irish Stout

This particular style of stout is often the one that people think of when referring to stout. Dry Irish Stout beers include tha famous Guinness beer, Murphy’s and Beamish beers in the UK. But a lot of people make the mistake of thinking these beers have a high alcohol content because of their dark colour when usually they are 3.5-5.5% ABV which makes them easy to drink. In most cases, a Dry Irish Stout is a medium bodied beer with a deep black colour associated with stout.

Russian Imperial Stout

Russian Imperial Stout was brewed in the 1700s for the court of Catherine II of Russia.And it sounds amazing doesn’t it? And to ensure this type of beer lasted it was loaded up with hops. It is a really strong beer typically ranging from 8 to 11% ABV and has a bitter taste with fruity notes.

Oatmeal Stout

As the name suggest Oatmeal stouts are brewed with oatmeal, surprise, surprise. And the oatmeal gives them a fuller body, smoothness and an extra note of sweetness than other stouts. Alcohol levels usually range between 4 and 7%.

Sweet (or Milk) Stout

It doesn’t sound very enticing, because the name suggest its flavour, which is true, because the sweet stout usually contains more residual dextrin and unfermented sugars than other stouts contain. And as a direct result this style of stout provides drinkers with a sweet profile along with the roasted flavour associated with stout. Milk stouts are another variation of sweet stout and usually have lactose and milk sugars in the brew.

Depending on your taste there’s usually a style of stout for you. And so we recommend going beyond the famous Guinness and trying some of the other varieties of stouts brewed across the world. And yes, Australian craft breweries are doing a stellar job brewing stout including this months Beer of the month club selection.

Watts River Brewing – Dry Roast Stout (Pictured above).

Cheers!

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Looking for a gift?
Give someone a membership to theBeer Of The Month Club
where members receive a different pack
of craft beer every month for 3, 6 or 12 months!

We continued our never ending search for the best craft beer every month to deliver to our members and it was by chance my parents ran in to one of the Watts River Brewing family at a local bowls club.

So when Mum told me the story I wanted to know more about the two brewers who used to work at the famous White Rabbit brewery in Healesville, Victoria and thought.. these guys must know what they’re doing! I say this because the White Rabbit Dark Ale was one of the first craft beers I had the pleasure of tasting back in the day and was so impressed I started drinking more and more and..anyway back to Watts River Brewing.
Check out the Watts River Micro Brewery in the Yarra Valley on Google maps >

Watts River Brewing call Healesville their home in the Yarra Valley, Victoria - and use the Watts River right next to them as one of their main supplies of brewing water. In other words, it’s a great foundation for producing fresh locally produced Australian craft beer.

“Why did you leave White Rabbit?” I said to Ben (Watts River Brewing Co-founder), “We wanted to brew our own beer without the quality being watered down.” Okay, enough said. But I still love the White Rabbit Dark Ale.

This months Beer of the month selection is the Stout aka Dry Roasty Stout from Watts River Brewing.

“We find and select a different bottle of boutique wine every month”, said Sam from the Wine Of The Month Club, “and deliver wine gifts direct to people’s homes or offices.”

The Wine Of The Month Club is the original wine gift delivery service in Australia where members receive or send a different bottle of red wine or white wine every month to the person they nominate as the gift recipient.

The Wine Of The Month Club was originally started overseas and is now in Australia thanks to Gift Of The Month Clubs.

“The Wine Of The Month Club started as a unique corporate gift to reward and thank people and quickly evolved in other clubs. Some of the best clubs in Australia include the Wine Of The Month Club, Wine Double Up Club and more,” said Peter from Gift Of The Month Clubs.

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Are you looking for a gift?
Give someone a membership to the best wine club in Australia!Wine Of The Month Club

Gary Lyon started his media career during his football days when he reportedly approached a local newspaper and offered to write stories for them free of charge. And today, well yesterday a couple of weeks ago he had risen to the top of the football media world! That is until a story broke in the Herald Sun by Mark Robinson that Gary Lyon had slept with one of his best mates (and co star of the Footy Show) Billy Brownless wife.

A picture can tell a thousand words

But guess what happened next? Gary’s management and Channel nine announced Gary was suffering from depression and we were all supposed to say poor Gary and forgive him. An act that may be forgiven, but never forgotten – because how could you trust a bloke who would do such a thing let alone respect his old school team mate type commentary style again.

Actually now I’m starting to feel sorry for Gary. Poor Gary. I mean, he might just end up moving interstate so he can walk the streets like a non celebrity does, invest in businesses or property development and live a less public multi millionaire’s life.

Beer Of The Month Club
Give someone a membership to the
Beer Of The Month Club
where members receive a different pack
of craft beer every month for 3, 6 or 12 months!

Wine Of The Month Club
Give someone a membership to the
Wine Of The Month Club
where members receive a different bottle of boutique wine
every month for 3, 6 or 12 months!

Flower Of The Month Club
Give someone special a membership to the
Flower Of The Month Club
where members receive a different bunch of florist designed
flowers every month for 3, 6 or 12 months!

So if you’re searching for gifts delivered Sydney we recommend
giving someone a membership to one of our amazing clubs!
It’s the gift that keeps on delivering when other gifts delivered to Sydney are gone and forgotten..Gift Of The Month Clubs

Looking for a gift?
Give someone a membership to the
Beer Of The Month Club! It’s a beer subscription club
where members receive a different pack of craft beer every month for 3, 6 or 12 months depending on the length of their
membership. It’s the craft beer gift that keeps on giving
when other craft beer gifts are gone and forgotten.Beer Of The Month Club